Pierce Manufacturing Inc. is a fire truck manufacturer located in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was acquired by Oshkosh Corporation in 1996 and is a wholly owned subsidiary.
Contents
History[edit | edit source]
The company was originally founded in 1913 by Humphrey Pierce and his son Dudley as the Pierce Auto Body Works Inc., and concentrated on building custom truck bodies for the Ford Model T. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, Pierce was primarily known for building custom bodies on commercial and other manufacturer's custom chassis, and was considered an OEM.
Although the Arrow name was used for their first custom chassis which debuted in 1979, the company has no affiliation with George N. Pierce's famous Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company of Buffalo, New York, which operated from 1901 to 1938. However, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company coincidentally supplied 8- and 12-cylinder engines to Seagrave for use in their fire apparatus. These engines continued to be made even after Pierce-Arrow ceased operation in 1938. Seagrave continued to deliver fire apparatus with the "Pierce-Arrow" V-12 until 1970.
Throughout the years, Pierce has had partnerships with various other manufacturers, notably when it came to aerial devices (they now engineer and build all their own aerial devices in-house). Such aerial manufacturers included Snorkel, Pitman, Aerial Innovations (AI), Ladder Towers Incorporated (LTI), Smeal, Bronto Skylift and NovaQuintech (whose assets Pierce/Oshkosh acquired in 1997). In addition to their main facilities in Wisconsin, they also have facilities in Bradenton, Florida. The Florida facility is a manufacturing site for the Contender and Responder line of apparatus, as well as a refurbishment center.
Production[edit | edit source]
Pierce Manufacturing Inc. build pumpers, tankers, aerials, rescues on their own custom chassis and on commercial chassis.
Innovations[edit | edit source]
Custom chassis[edit | edit source]
At present, Pierce denotes all their cab models with a 4-digit numerical suffix. The first two digits identify the length of the cab, measured from the center of the front axle to the rear cab wall. The last two digits identify the height of the roof. Dimensions are measured in inches ("). For example, an Arrow XT 6710 cab measures 67" in length with a 10" raised roof. Flat roof cabs are denoted with a "00" in place of the roof height and aerials may have a notched version of the shortest roof height configuration available, per each cab.
Current custom chassis[edit | edit source]
- Pierce Arrow XT (2003-...)
- Pierce Enforcer (2000-2007, 2014-...)
- Pierce Impel / Pierce Velocity (2006-...)
- Pierce Quantum (1995-...)
- Pierce Saber (1992-...)
Discontinued custom chassis[edit | edit source]
Between 1987 and 1993, Pierce supplied custom chassis to Superior Emergency Vehicles, including the Arrow, Dash, and Lance.
- Pierce Arrow (1979-2002)
- Pierce Dash (1984-2008)
- Pierce Dash CF (2011-2020)
- Pierce Javelin (1990-1993)
- Pierce Lance (1985-2007)
Aerials[edit | edit source]
Ascendant Class of Aerials[edit | edit source]
Ladders[edit | edit source]
| 75' Heavy-Duty Aluminum Ladder | 75' Heavy-Duty Steel Ladder | 100' Heavy-Duty Aluminum Ladder | 100' Heavy-Duty Steel Ladder | 105' Heavy-Duty Steel Ladder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production | 2004-present | 1992-present | 2006-present | ????-present | 1992-present |
| Custom Chassis |
Arrow XT Dash CF Enforcer Impel Quantum Velocity |
Arrow XT Dash CF Enforcer Impel Quantum Velocity |
Arrow XT Dash CF Quantum Velocity |
Arrow XT Dash CF Quantum Velocity |
Arrow XT Dash CF Enforcer Impel Quantum Velocity |
| Ladder Reach |
75' vertical 67'-9" horizontal |
75' vertical 69' horizontal |
100' vertical 91'-7" horizontal |
100' vertical 94'-1" horizontal |
105' vertical 100' horizontal |
| Operating Range |
-8° to 76° | -5° to 75° | -8° to 76° | -8° to 75° | -8° to 75° |
| Payload Capacity |
750 lbs. dry 500 lbs. wet |
500 lbs. dry or wet | 750 lbs. dry 500 lbs. wet |
750 lbs. dry 500 lbs. wet |
750 lbs. dry 500 lbs. wet |
| Water Flow Capacity |
1500 US GPM | 1000 US GPM | 1500 US GPM | 1000 US GPM | 1000 US GPM |
| Stabilizers | 1 pair of H-style outriggers (16' jack spread) |
1 pair of H-style outriggers (16' jack spread) |
2 pairs of H-style outriggers (12' jack spread) |
2 pairs of H-style outriggers (12' jack spread) |
2 pairs of H-style outriggers (Up to 16' jack spread) |
| Body Styles |
Quint Truck (no pump/no tank) |
Quint Truck (no pump/no tank) |
Quint Truck (no pump/no tank) |
Quint Truck (no pump/no tank) |
Quint Truck (no pump/no tank) |
| Tank Capacity |
Up to 500 US gallons | Up to 500 US gallons | Up to 750 US gallons | Up to 750 US gallons | Up to 750 US gallons |
| PUC pump | Available | Available | Available | Available | Available |
Platforms[edit | edit source]
| 100' Heavy Duty Aluminum Platform | 100' Heavy Duty Steel Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Production | 2009-present | 1991-present |
| Custom Chassis | Arrow XT Dash CF Quantum Velocity |
Arrow XT Dash CF Quantum Velocity |
| Ladder Reach | 100' vertical 92' horizontal |
100' vertical 93' horizontal |
| Operating Range | -11.5° to 76° | -5° to 75° |
| Payload Capacity | 1000 lbs. dry 500 lbs. wet |
1000 lbs. dry 500 lbs. wet |
| Water Flow Capacity | 2000 US GPM | 3000 US GPM |
| Stabilizers | 2 pairs of H-style outriggers (16'-6" jack spread) | 2 pairs of H-style outriggers (18' jack spread) |
| Body Styles | Quint Truck (no pump/no tank) |
Quint Truck (no pump/no tank) |
| Tank Capacity | Up to 500 US gallons | Up to 500 US gallons |
| PUC pump | Available | Available |
Sky-Boom[edit | edit source]
The Sky-Boom is available in a 55' or 61' reach (16.76 m or 18.59 m),and delivers an unrestricted 500 lb (226.8 kg) dry tip load rating and a 250 lb (113.4 kg) tip load while flowing 1,000 gpm (3,785 Lpm) of water.
Discontinued products[edit | edit source]
- 85' heavy-duty platform (1998-2019)
- 95' mid-mount platform (2000-2018)
- 100' Sky-Arm platform (1998-2012)
- 116' Bronto Skylift platform (2011-2014)
- 100' medium-duty tiller (19??-2017)
- 100' heavy-duty tiller (19??-2017)
- 100' medium-duty ladder (????-2019)
- 100' mid-mount ladder (????-2019)
Pumpers[edit | edit source]
- pumper
- rescue pumper
- heavy-duty rescue pumper
- snozzle (50' or 65')
Rescues[edit | edit source]
- walk-around
- walk-in
- combination
- Encore
- command
Tankers[edit | edit source]
- pumper tanker
- dry-side tanker
Sources[edit | edit source]
- McCall, Walter M.P. Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2009.
- Pierce Manufacturing history
